


Rusted Strings

by himamocas



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/F, Slow Build, Unrequited Love, ok we're gonna try the slow build part but other than that HHH, one it's-supposed-to-be-a-oneshot-but-eh fic coming right up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-23 22:23:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14942450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/himamocas/pseuds/himamocas
Summary: Lisa had only expected to find work amongst the pastries of her grandmother and their shelves, Tokyo.She had never, however, expected to find her fingers holding onto the rusted strings of her bass, her form standing in a line leading up to the mysterious woman she had met weeks back though, Tokyo.





	Rusted Strings

**Author's Note:**

> yeah hi if you're seeing this, i'm gonna redo the last part of this chapter + update it (???)

The store was just a five-minute walk away from her workplace yet, to the solo singer, still felt like an hour-long jog, especially considering that she wasn't as good in reading a map nor following directions.

 

The site that has occupied her tunnel vision, however, seemed to make the effort worth it, if not by a long shot. It was a store just as similar as anything her artist friend, Hikawa Hina, would draw for books fit for a five year old's mind—a lime green edifice with a wooden door on her left and a rectanguar glass window on her right with the best pastries and cookies put in baskets and, now, are being displayed to the passerbys and citizens of Tokyo along with rather creative names and percentages erased by a single, diagonal trace of a Sharpie with their replacements handwritten above it. 

 

It was a one-floor establishment. At least that was what Yukina was trying to assume because of all the stores in this street, this was particularly the shortest. The wide, flat ebony-painted roof seemed to have proven this as any other building that has passed the line will find itself standing with a second or even third floor in some cases. It was the embodiment of a perfect measurement for Yukina. The whole street was in order despite its common appearance and seeing orderliness, especially when your own workspace is already a heap of messy drafts, pinned schedules, and outputs smelling like deadlines, was a change of pace. In other words, it felt refreshing.

 

Above the roof was a sign, written in dark red, Times New Roman font, "PASTRY SHOP".

 

There was nowhere in site except for a middle-aged passerby crossing the street. No cameras. No interviewers. It was just Yukina and the bouts of freedom she had been wishing for since forever. A bird freed from its cage, to put it simply.

 

Yet Yukina wasted no time. The store could later be filled with so many faces of fans that Yukina might not even be able to get the things she needed. Worse comes to worst, the agency will track her down.

 

She opened the door and observed the interiors of the building. Compared to its exterior, the walls were painted in a shade of ebony almost as if it was supposed to look like wood.To her right, she found white racks aligned perfectly with ingredients placed in their respective places and refrigerators mounted on walls, containing other needed materials such as chocolate chips, butter, and the like. To her left was an old lady, not even looking older than eighty, standing behind the cash register with a smile. She looked like one of those creepy ladies from those supernatural anime movies Ako would watch—old ladies with big glasses who always attended as the cashier of a seemingly innocent store but when shit eventually goes down, she'd actually turn out to be a witch making and selling spell crafts. And although Yukina knew better than to expect that, she still couldn't help but find it creepy.

 

"How may I help you, young lady?"

 

 Yukina retained her composure, fixing her glance at the old woman in front of her.

 

"I need to shop for... ingredients. As usual."

 

The old lady felt a bit saddened yet still managed to retain her smile. "Go ahead, dear."

 

Without another word, Yukina took a wooden basket and proceeded to the racks as she recited the ingredient list in her mind.

 

It was for a simple recipe, really. Sugar cookies, as the internet would put it. Yukina wouldn't admit this but she wanted to be invested in baking as some sort of scape from the daily stress she'd get as a solo singer. (And with auditions for a possible band with Yukina set as the lead singer, she knew that it will get worse. Socializing is, definitely, something she is still not good at despite her multiple talents.)

 

_So that's...all-purpose flour, right? Then white sugar. Baking soda. Baking powder. Vanilla extract. Egg and then...butter. Alright._

 

For once, Yukina found bliss in the simple yet constructed system of the placement of ingredients. She could just go skid from left to right in less than a minute before the uproar of a paparazzi will eventually come to threaten her—something that the agency had been trying to avoid ever since she rose to fame. 

 

To top it all off, the racks were just her height. So Yukina could just dump anything that says, "All-purpose flour" into the basket without having to argue with herself on what brand she should take. Anyways, it will produce the result, Yukina figured. This would be easier than she thought.

 

And so her rack adventure ended in a complete success with Yukina getting everything she needed except for two more things.

 

So that's how Yukina found herself two minutes later, the refrigerator wide open, her toes slowly giving in as her shaking and wearing fingertips attempted to reach for the carton of eggs which was only two shelves from her height. By that time, some people had already entered the premises and if she slips, Yukina might end in a fiasco she will not enjoy. Her troubled situation might even end up viral. Maybe someone was recording her at this point. Maybe the agency already knew.

 

(Yukina knew better than to panic. She knew that nobody can figure out her secret just like that. The fact that she looked very different in a black wig, or at least that's what she first thought when the solo singer looked at herself in the mirror, was already a reassurance that no one won't find out. But in this situation, there was always the chance that she could slip. Everything could slip. And she would be in great danger if that were to happen.)

 

To make matters worse, someone, who was probably way taller than her, was already taking the carton of eggs she was after.

 

"Were you trying to reach for this?"

 

Or not.

 

Yukina turned to see a girl, an employee she had guessed, handing out the carton. This girl, who with the long, brown wavy hair tied back into a bun rather messily, silver eyes staring back at her pale yellow ones, a usual service smile being thrown at her haphazardly like a bullet (what  _is_ it that made her this different?) with tints of red radiating from her porcelain cheeks. No other words could emphasize the fact that she was just extremely gorgeous.

 

It felt like a sick love story scenario: two persons, by some twist of coincidence and fate, finding themselves rather close to each other, fingertips reaching out for the  _same_ object before realizing that they were  _too_ near to even find oxygen in that kind of space so they end up peering into each other's eyes as if something was  _bound_ to change just by looking into them for a tad longer than a second. 

 

Yukina couldn't believe that she just got herself into an almost exact situation either.

 

(She tried to remain her composure. Tried.)

 

"Ah, yes. Thank you very much...um—"

 

Yukina's eyes peered to her name tag for a quick bit.

 

"Imai...Lisa?"

 

Lisa giggled as Yukina took the carton. "That's my name, alright. You can call me Lisa though."

 

"A-Ah. I don't think the informality is necessary. Uh, thank you very much, Imai-san. I appreciate your help very much."

 

Lisa then took a quick good look at the basket before her eyes landed back onto Yukina. She couldn't believe that she was just allowing herself to be hit twice either.

 

"Sugar cookies? I-I don't mean to come off as rude but is this your first time?"

 

"As a matter of fact, it is. Why so?"

 

There was a hint of uncertainty and confusion in Lisa's eyes—something that should make even someone like Yukina terrified.

 

"The products you've picked are...good. But there are still some products that are of higher quality than that."

 

"Right. And how should I trust with this?"

 

"Not to brag, really. But I won in seventeen bake-offs, including an international contest."

 

Yukina had no choice but to follow suit as Lisa skidded to the racks where the sugars were placed.

 

"And how come you work here?"

 

"Hmm. Well,"Lisa took the bags of sugar from the basket, earning a grunt of complaint from her customer. "I like it here. I like helping my grandma."

 

"Wait. So the lady in the counter is your grandmother?"

 

"Yep,"Lisa then rummaged through the shelves before finding a different-looking bag. "This is better."

 

"But don't all all-purpose flour function the same?"

  
"Well, yes. But some of them are made differently. Others mix it with chemicals and we don't want those in your cookies, right?"

 

"N-No. Definitely not. I apologize for even questioning such a silly matter."

 

"It's not silly, really. You're learning and that's what's important. Now, shall we head to the third counter? You've picked a good brand for white sugar, luckily."

 

Yukina herself couldn't help but blush at that compliment.

 

"Thank you, really."

 

Lisa chuckled. "Don't be afraid to ask for help. I'll even help you with the baking."

 

Yukina was taken aback by this. "R-Really? You don't need to do that at all."

 

"I'm fine with it. I have nothing much to do, anyways except for helping out here and playing my bass during my free time."

 

"Bass?"

 

Which reminded Yukina.

 

_The band auditions._

 

Still, she held back and regained herself.

 

"I-I heard that FUWOFES agency are holding auditions for a new band with Minato Yukina as the vocalist. I think that you should give it a try."

 

Yukina didn't know where the sudden need to see her again came from. But she knew at that moment that she  _needed_ to see Lisa more, especially not in a messy disguise.

 

"Band auditions, huh? It makes me a bit nervous just hearing that."

 

"No, please. I encourage you to try it out."

 

_I'll even convince the staff to let you in. You seem like you're good at it...or something._

 

"Alright. I'll try. Thank you for encouraging me to do this."

 

Yukina smiled. "You're very much welcome, Imai-san. Now if you excuse me, I must go to the counter now."

 

Lisa returned the smile as Yukina finally excused herself to the counter.

 

"I'll see you around then, Yukina-san."

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feel free to follow me @personaran on twitter!


End file.
